STORRS - Geno Auriemma is going to give his UConn womenâs basketball team some time off before the Huskies begin their bid for a fifth consecutive American Athletic Conference Tournament title.

But judging from the Hall of Fame coachâs comments following top-ranked UConnâs 82-53 win over No. 20 South Florida at Gampel Pavilion, he may need the mini-break more than his players before they return to practice and prepare for Sundayâs quarterfinal game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

âWhat are we going to work on? I donât know,â Auriemma said. âI have no idea. With these guys today, it doesnât matter.

âThis is how I describe it. You could say to some of our players, âToday is Monday. I think we need to work on this. Go tell them.â And they will go over (two steps) and say, âCoach said something about next Monday, but I donât know what he wants.â So thatâs kind of the world that weâve inherited now in basketball. You just hope that half of what we talk about registers. So far, so good, but Iâm not celebrating at home.â

While there was no suspense here Monday night, there was plenty in Memphis and New Orleans where the results would determine UConnâs first opponent.

In Memphis, the host Tigers rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit and slipped past Temple 83-78 in overtime to clinch the No. 8 seed for the league tourney.

Meanwhile in New Orleans, Tulane came from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to pull out a 52-46 win over SMU to take the No. 9 seed.

Memphis and Tulane will play Saturday for the right to play top-seeded UConn on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

USF, Central Florida, and Cincinnati also earned first-round byes. If seeds hold the first day, the Huskies would face Cincinnati or Houston in the semifinals Monday.

Cincinnati topped Houston 61-57 on Monday to get the No. 4 seed and got the Bearcatsâ Jamelle Elliott an endorsement for AAC Coach of the Year.

âI voted for her, but maybe Iâm biased,â Auriemma said. âI donât know where they were picked (preseason eighth), but it wasnât anywhere near fourth. She has done a terrific, terrific job this year. She deserves to be Coach of the Year.â